12. one word

I started attending Port City Community Church in 2007. Mike Ashcraft is the Pastor and he is awesome. Seriously, awesome. He's the kind of preacher that messes up sentences on stage, laughs at himself, wears a flannel and talks about surfing. I like those kind of pastors. I like them because I don't feel like the have the "I'm perfect" complex. I like the "Yup, I'm messed up and I know it" attitude. Don't you?

Anyways, Mike preaches about a concept named "My One Word." Here's how I understand it: instead of a new years resolution, you pick one work that describes a quality you would like to see improve in your own life. You commit it to God, research a verse that you'll memorize or think about often pertaining to your word. By the end of the year, you'll look back and be able to see how God used that word in your life. The goal is to not have a "resolution" but something you can commit to God and watch Him work. Mike wrote an awesome book on the topic, but if you don't have time to read it, here's a super short video with Mike explaining the concept in more detail or you can visit www.myoneword.org:

This intrigued me even before I committed my life to Christ. My first word: Motivation. This was in 2008. I wasn't doing that great in school, wasn't exercising Princess Madison as much as I wanted, didn't have the friends I wanted; I lacked motivation. Just that year, I was motivated to move out of the state I was in to get away from all I knew there and try something new. He used that year to make all the changes I needed to make before I could be motivated, and then He motivated me.

Words since then:
2009: Faithful
2010: Discipline
2011: Diligence
2012: Secure
Word for 2013: Peace. 

God made it incredibly clear to me what my word should be each year through friends, devotionals, songs, you name it. Your word can be whatever you want it to be. When people ask me what my resolution is, not only do I get to share a new perspective, but I am constantly reminded of God's faithfulness. I could write a book on each word and how much it has impacted me.

I would encourage you to prayerfully choose your word. It's not something you can fail at, because you commit it to God and He doesn't fail. I encourage you to take the step of faith and let God prove his faithfulness in your own life. 

If you want more information on how to get started, visit that website above, comment on this page, or e-mail me directly-- I'd love to share more and come along side of you in this journey.

Happy word hunting!